SPORTS

NFL's Simmons Speaks of Former Gay
Lifestyle and New Faith in Christ

By Andrew KnoxThe 700 Club

CBN.com 
Roy Simmons is one of only three NFL players to publicly
discuss being homosexual. All three chose to speak of their sexual
orientation after retirement from the league. But there is another
side to Roy’s story that hasn’t been told, at least
not until now.

In 1992, on The Phil Donahue Show, Roy Simmons had a
major announcement.

"He comes here today" Donahue told the television audience,
"to tell you that he is now and always has been gay."

"I don’t think we knew the repercussions that were
going to come after that," Simmons explains. "My friends
were in shock – 'Roy, you must have gone out and just gotten
toasted and you got a major hangover.' "

This was not just any man revealing sexual secrets on national
television. Roy had been the epitome of a macho, 290-pound offensive
lineman in the NFL whose career ended much too early. He had a
bright future from the start, signing a commitment to play with
Georgia Tech. He boasted the ideal physique for football –
big and strong, lots of speed. He was drafted by the New York
Giants in 1979. But off the field, he had a secret: he was having
sex with men. It was a well-kept secret, but ultimately the double
life affected his on-field performance. The Giants got rid of
Simmons.

"I was in shock," Simmons admits. "It really hurt
me that I was released. It really, really did."

Roy caught a break. The Washington Redskins took a chance on
him, and that same year the Skins made it to the Super Bowl…
but lost to the Raiders by nearly 30 points. That didn’t
matter much to Roy. He had other things to worry about. Among
the special guests Roy had brought with him to the Super Bowl
were multiple lovers, two females and one male.

By this point, Roy was drinking heavily and snorting cocaine.
But he didn’t last long with the Redskins; they didn’t
want him either. Most of Roy's wounds were self-inflicted, except
for one. As a little boy, Roy did odd jobs around town. A woman
asked him to clean her house. While she was out, her husband stayed
behind at home and sought out Roy's company.

"He had some cocktails; he had been drinking," Simmons
recalls. "Eventually, he called me into the room, and he
turned me around and basically he did what he wanted to."

That was the first big secret in Roy’s life, and it had
a profound impact. After the Redskins dumped him, Roy's NFL career
was over. He had a quick stint in the second-tier USFL, but he
became a broke, washed-up athlete with a drug addiction and a
secret sex life. In 1990, he headed out West.

"I had heard about San Francisco, the gay life. It’s
the gay capitol. It was kind of crazy, but it was like, well,
since you’re in it, go all the way," Simmons reasoned.

That he did. He drank and did drugs. Some nights he even slept
on the street. Worst of all, Roy actually prostituted himself
to fund his drug habit.

"[That was] something I thought I’d never do,"
Simmons says. "I always said there were things I’d
never do, and I kind of caught myself with that. I shoplifted
and I prostituted, basically. I think that through the years there
was a lot of confusion brought about in my life due to the rape.
It led me in areas where I cared not to go, but I went there."

Roy believed God wouldn’t accept him as he was.

"When you’re out in sin," Simmons explains, "you
really feel like you cut yourself off. You’re ashamed that
'oh, look what I’m doing. I can’t go to Him like this.
I can’t go to God in prayer.' "

He surfaced briefly, making his appearance on Donahue.
A few years later, a doctor gave Roy a grim diagnosis.

"He called me in, and he gave me the results," he remembers.
"My knees buckled. He told me that my tests came back positive.
I guess the initial thought was I’m going to die. I’ve
known people, some of them a month, and then they’re gone."

Upon learning that he was HIV positive, Roy felt hopeless, like
he was just waiting around to die. That's when he made a desperate
call to best friend Jimmy Hester and decided to move to Martha’s
Vineyard. There a remarkable physical and spiritual cleansing
took place.

Jimmy Hester is also HIV positive. He went to the Martha’s
Vineyard Holistic Retreat because of his HIV. He has made great
strides with his physical health, but he also found something
he never expected – a relationship with Jesus Christ. That
relationship started soon after a Bible study invitation by his
doctor, Roni Deluz.

Now Roy is also meeting with Dr. Deluz, and he’s feeling
great. He was recently baptized.

Roy's pastor, Marcia Buckley, who quickly notes Roy's hunger
for God, says, "One thing that he appreciates is the fact
that he’s alive in the Lord and that God has given him a
chance to live."

Roy has learned much from his pastor about his former lifestyle.

"We spoke on and learned about homosexuality and the connotations
and everything that go along with it. It's really against God’s
will," Roy states.

Roy devotes himself to the Lord and to purity. He has not been
sexually active in more than three years.

"All that lying and cheating and all that backbiting and
all that deceitfulness – I don’t practice that,"
he says bluntly.

Roy is eager to study the Word of God and to grow closer to the
Lord.

"Thank God for Jesus, for Him dying for my sins. On a daily
basis, I can go to Him in prayer and just put it out there and
be honest about it," says Simmons. "Coming into the
fold, coming into the knowledge of God, just how wonderful and
great He is and powerful, and feeling the love of Jesus –
it’s a beautiful feeling."